This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In performing surgery, such as ophthalmic surgery, where procedures are performed adjacent delicate tissue, like the retina, it is desirable to have detection mechanisms to ensure that surgical instruments are connected to the surgical system. Such detection adds to the safety level of the system and provides the user confidence that the instrument being used is functioning properly.
Prior art systems have placed a pressure transducer and associated tubing on the output side of a pneumatic valve. The pneumatic surgical instrument, such as a vitreous (vit) cutter or scissors, is also connected to the output of the pneumatic valve. The pneumatic valve provides pulses of pressurized air for driving the surgical instrument at a desired cut rate. Pressure data from the pressure transducer is used to determine whether the surgical instrument is connected to the pneumatic valve. Connecting the pressure transducer and its tubing to the output of the pneumatic valve adds volume and potentially compliance to the drive line, which in turn, can require greater air pressures and volume to drive the surgical instrument. A pressure transducer connected to the output of the pneumatic valve also complicates and impairs the ability of the valve to drive the surgical instrument at high cut rates, such as rates above 2 k cuts/min by a vit cutter. To minimize the effects of the transducer on the drive line, the transducer size and the diameter of the associated tubing have been minimized as much as possible; this reduced transducer size tends to add cost and limits the available transducer options for manufacturing design. In addition, the transducer is required to be placed very close to the output of the pneumatic valve to provide reliable sensing of air pulses at high cut rates. Requiring the transducer to be close to the valve output reduces options in the design of the pneumatic surgical instrument drive system contained within the surgical system.
Therefore, it would be desirable to eliminate the need for an output-side pressure transducer, yet still provide reliable detection of whether a pneumatic surgical instrument is connected to the surgical system.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.